About the Dean

James McGuffin-Cawley

James McGuffin-Cawley, an alumnus of the school and member of its faculty since 1991, was named interim dean of the Case School of Engineering on July 1, 2017.

“Jim’s breadth of experience in the Case School of Engineering, along with his extensive external engagement, make him particularly well suited to lead you during this time of transition,” Provost Bud Baeslack said. “I am grateful to him for taking on this responsibility, and confident he will do an outstanding job of maintaining the great momentum the school has achieved in recent years.”

McGuffin-Cawley is the Arthur Holden Professor of Engineering and an accomplished researcher, teacher and liaison with industries throughout Northeast Ohio. In the mid-2000s, he served for five years as Case School of Engineering’s associate dean for academics, then spent nine years as chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, where he led significant curricular reform. Last year, he was named the school’s associate dean for research. McGuffin-Cawley also has served as the university’s governing board representative and executive committee member of America Makes (previously known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute) since its creation five years ago.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in ceramic engineering from Alfred University, McGuffin-Cawley went on to earn his doctorate in ceramic science from Case Western Reserve in 1984. He then spent two years working in Northeast Ohio at NASA before joining the engineering faculty at The Ohio State University. He returned to Case Western Reserve in 1991.

McGuffin-Cawley’s research in ceramics and powder metallurgy spans more than twenty years and includes contributions to the fundamental studies on transport phenomena, high-temperature stability of ceramic microstructures, agglomeration phenomena, and novel solid-freeform-fabrication powder processing. He has worked both on oxide and nonoxide ceramics, as well as powder metallurgy. His work on solid Freeform Fabrication of 316L stainless steel using the method of computer-aided manufacturing of laminated engineering materials pioneered the use of a secondary binder as a transient fluid to enable consolidation of partially debound laser-cut sheets.